Cyborg 00XI6
by LivingDeadPhantom
Summary: Amé Takeharu is taken by the Black Ghost Organization and the rebel Cyborgs were able to save her! But as memories resurface, more problems are found with the new series. WARNING: Original character usuage! Disclaimers in first chapter!
1. Amé Takeharu, A Preface

Hey-ya, there! Not expecting a story here, huh? Well, Rin is very versatile, meaning she does a lot of different things.

_Warning!! Original Character warning!! You have been warned!!!_

Yes, this is a Cyborg 009 fan fiction. In this little plot bunny (I've heard it been called that, so I thought I'd use it), I have created an experimental Cyborg series, the 00XI series. (Please note that it is zero-zero-X-I, not zero-zero-eleven. Thank you.)

This takes my original character, Amé Takeharu (a.k.a. 00XI6), through a life changing experience that she may or may not forget.

Here's where my warnings must come in. At first, Amé sounds a little perfect, I know. I did that on purpose to make thing more interesting; perfection to nothing in x-amount of time. Now, 009 has a big crush on Amé and he doesn't hide it very well due to explanation in story. Amé would much rather stay as far away from him as humanly possible. (Did I accidentally make a pun there?)

Let me just say, that nothing of weird perversion will happen. I wrote this for the mere fun of writing. Rated T for Teen because of slight violence, slight swearing, slightly occasional what-the-fish (WTF) moments, and some cutesy hugging scenes.

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CYBORG 009 IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM!! All character belong to and are copyrighted to their respectful creators. I DO HOWEVER OWN THE 00XI6 CHARACTERS!**_

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**Amé Takeharu **

My name is Amé Takeharu. For the first sixteen years of my life, I have been a loyal member to the Takeharu family. I was a straight 'A' student, honor roll for five years running. I had the voice of an angel, and the athletics of most Olympic competitors. I was the perfect daughter. I even had a boyfriend; although he was my best friend for most of my life, and he was the one mark on my record.

He was an orphan, raised at the local church orphanage. He was three years older than me, but that never stopped us from being the closest of friends. I was fourteen when he finally asked to be my boyfriend; I couldn't say no to him. My family hated the idea of their perfect daughter dating an orphan, but they accepted the fact that I was happy. The Takeharu blood line would continue, and that was all that mattered.

Life was perfect, until he disappeared. It was one year ago when he was suspected of murdering the priest of the church. He had just up and vanished the next day. Mother, with her long hair pulled back while cooking, had told me that it was because he couldn't handle the Takeharu pressure. She died the next day of unknown reasons, leaving me as the only living female residence of the Takeharu heir line. As Takeharu tradition, women in the family must let their hair grown as long as possible and when they die, their hair is cut and woven into a scarf. Her scarf hangs over our doorway. There were too many losses that month.

But… Life slowly began to return to its usual rut in my day-to-day schedule. Perfect, normal, like nothing could go wrong. Then…

The Black Ghost Organization got hold of me. Wiping all memories from my—

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Some beginning, huh? Don't worry, it gets better.


	2. 00XI6

And now, chapter one! Amé is woken up and the story begins!

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CYBORG 009 IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM!! All character belong to and are copyrighted to their respectful creators. I DO HOWEVER OWN THE 00XI6 CHARACTERS!**_

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**00XI6 **

"Wake up!" The voice shouted from some regions of my brain bringing me into full consciousness. The bright lights of a lab shown above and down on me like I was a rat. I sat up placing a hand on my head. Where was I? I don't recall anything other than my name; Amé Takeharu, my best feature was my… long… My hand trailed down the back of my head, my hair ending just below my shoulders.

"Hey!" I shouted turning around very fast to see if it was just a fluke. No, it wasn't. My hair was really gone. Why did I have long hair in the first place? Style, I guessed, but it angered me. I stood up from the bed I lay on, wires disconnected from my body with the motion. I heard a single voice from the room above me. Angry as hell, I looked up to see a chubby little man, with a rather large nose, running around the observatory trying to get something to happen.

My eye twitch and I jumped, leaping more than thirty feet, breaking through the glass at the top, and skidding to a stop just in front of the man. He looked genuinely frightened of me.

"Are you…" I started, letting my bangs cover my eyes. My voice was soft as though I hadn't used it in a very long time. The man screamed.

"Help! Help! 00XI6 has awoken and escaped on her own!" He shouted looking around. That confused me. Zero-zero-X-I-six? I looked down at him; a man that is shorter than me is rare. I am only five foot two, this guy was about two feet shorter. A dwarf?

He caught my eye and immediately stopped making noise. "Are you the one that did this?" I asked shaking my head to move my bangs from my eyes.

"I- All I did was cut your—"

Before I even thought about doing anything, my right hand pulled back and punched this man in his face. Blood spurted from his large nose before he fell backwards.

"Nice punch. I'm impressed." The voice in my head said to me. "There are guard robots coming. Above you is an air vent, jump up and run to your right." It instructed.

I looked up to see that there was, in fact, an air vent right above my head. Sighing, not too sure why I was following the instructions of a voice in my mind, I jumped up and broke through the vent. Have I always been this athletic? Taking a glance around, I saw that I was at a four-way intersection of vents. Great. I turned and half ran half crawled through the vents. They were caked in dust and cobwebs and I could feel something moving in my hair. I tried to ignore that part.

I could just barely see a light at the end of the vent system, and a smile crossed my face. "Ha! I made it!" I announced softly to myself. Just in time for me to plummet down a hole I hadn't seen.

"Nice fall. How are you feeling?" The voice asked as I desperately tried to grab onto something in the darkness. My hands scraped something, and I reached out with my legs and arms, just enough to slow me to a halt over the ending of the tunnel. I glanced over my side to see the dark blue ocean underneath me.

Dizzy, I looked back into the dark. "I'm feeling like I just got thrown away like an old newspaper." I replied. It was my best description.

"Oh, that's good." Cheerful little voice. "Let go, someone will catch you." It finally said.

"Are you insane?" I shouted the loudest I could get my voice to go. It cracked. God, how long has it been since I used my voice?

The voice laughed in my head. "Don't worry, 00XI6, someone will catch you." It repeated. Of course, with my luck, my right hand had just gathered enough perspiration to allow me to slip. My entire right arm buckled under my weight and I slid backwards. I thought about screaming for a second, but I had exited the darkness and stared, upside down, at the land and ocean. It was very beautiful with the nighttime or morning sun rising or setting over the horizon.

I felt something behind me, a presence of a person. Then two strong arms wrapped around my body stopping my steady decent to the water and pulling me into an upright position. Again, I was dizzy.

"That was quite the exit, kid." The man holding me complimented. I could hardly put the words together in my brain. Red wire is connected to… blue. Then I realized something; something that I didn't pull together.

"Oh my God, we're flying!" I announced looking over my shoulder to the man. His hair was spiked largely in the back with three spikes as bangs. He had a large nose that reminded me of a bird beak. (Do all the men here have huge noses?) He was carrying me by holding tightly around my waist. Embarrassing.

He laughed. "Yes we are." He said as we reached the shore. He set me down on my feet and I immediately fell to my knees. "We have arrived at our destination. Thank you for flying Flight 002." The man announced happily. Zero-zero-two?

I let myself fall forwards in the sand to feel the hot sun beat against my back. Around me, I heard many footsteps coming closer.

"00XI6, are you feeling any better, now?" I heard the voice ask. A woman spoke softly, but I couldn't understand what she was saying.

I really wanted to answer, but I couldn't form any thoughts let alone words. Although I think I may have let out a groan of some sort. There were a few dark chuckles.

"Are you hungry?" A deep voice asked from somewhere around me. I didn't bother to look up from the sand I was laying in.

"006, will you go and make lunch?" A higher voice asked. Zero-zero-six? A man with a slight Chinese accent agreed and there was a pair of footsteps running away. Food was the farthest thing from my mind. He ran back.

"Any suggestions, 00XI6?" The one called 006 asked me. Again, I groaned, but this time I at least found the strength to sit up. The man that had spoken was a short, round man with (get this) a large round nose. He had thinning black hair and a thin curled mustache.

Was I even hungry? I sat back on the sand and crossed my legs Indian-like. I noticed that everyone was wearing the same uniform; skin tight red pants and shirt, four large yellow buttons made place on the shirts, two on the chest and two on the stomach, a red mini skirt, a black belt around their waist. They all were wearing knee-high black boots and a rather long yellow scarf tied around their necks.

I noticed that I was staring rather awkwardly at the woman that had spoken earlier. She had short, blonde hair that seemed to be curling upwards to her left. She wore a red headband, even though her bangs fell over her forehead. She held a small, aqua colored haired baby, which turned to look right at me.

"Welcome to the group, 00XI6." He said. I stood up slowly, still not used to actually standing.

"So you're the voice in my head." I confirmed. He nodded and looked up to the woman.

"We are now a completed family," He continued. "Eight brothers and one sister. This is 003 and I am 001." He introduced. She smiled at me sweetly. Zero-zero-three and Zero-zero-one? "I guess you already know 002 and 006?" He asked, I must have half nodded, but I didn't exactly catch it. 001 raised a small hand and pointed to a very tall man.

"I am 005." He said in that deep voice; I recognized him to be the one that asked me if I was hungry. Zero-zero-five? Out of nowhere, a very smiley bald man stood in front of me and started shaking my hand wildly.

"And I am 007! It's very nice to meet you, Miss 00XI6." He said finally stopping the wild hand shake to kiss the back of my right hand. Zero-zero-seven?

Standing beside 006 was a tall gentleman with silvery blue hair and matching eyes. He waved a gray hand at me. "004." He said lowering his hand. Zero-zero-four?

On the opposite side of the group, standing by 005, an African man mimicked the wave of 004 introducing himself as a 008. Zero-zero-eight. Why did they all have numbers for names? Behind all of them, I couldn't forget the face, stood a man no older than myself. He had light brown hair that covered half of his face. His brown eyes had been examining me since I stood up.

"And behind us is—"

"009!" I heard 003 shout. Before I really knew why she had shouted, the answer hit me full force nearly knocking me off my already unstable feet. I could just barely see that my attacker was the man studying me. He picked me up at my waist and spun me around in the air once before letting me down to hold me tightly, almost protectively. His right arm wrapped around my waist, his left hand on the back of my head. There goes my feeling dizzy again.

"Amé!" He said happily into my hair. "I thought I'd never see you again!" He whispered. I felt his body tremble as thought he were holding back tears.

"Uh," I said softly. He only held me tighter. I could feel the horrified and confused stares of the group around us. "I don't know you." He froze. My eye twitched and I somewhat realize what was going on.

"You pervert!" I cried reaching my right arm up over my head and slapping the man with all the strength I had in me. He let go and jumped backwards in shock. His brown eyes (more like eye, since half of his face was still covered by his hair) stared at me, completely horrified by my reaction. I watched as 003 handed 001 to 007 and ran to this man's side. She held his arm and pulled him away from me.

"009, are you okay?" She asked. Zero-zero-nine; that is this man's name? He laughed a nervous laughter, like someone in denial.

"Amé, don't you recognize me?" He asked. He reached out a hand, like it would make some difference. Did I know him? Now that I think about it, I don't remember anything outside the fact that my name is Amé.

"It's me, Joe!" He said with a longing look in his eyes. I knew someone by the name of Joe? "Joe Shimamura!" His brown eye filled with hope and confusion. "I was your boyfriend!"

Apparently that wasn't what anyone was expecting. The group ran to us, all talking at once, mostly to 009. He didn't answer or reply to them, just continued to stare at me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see that 004 was the only one standing beside me, the others were crowded around 009 and 003. A minute later, silence fell over the group and short man walked over to us. He had dark skin, graying hair, and a large nose. (Am I the only one who saw them?)

He smiled at me. "Hello, 00XI6, it's nice finally to meet you. I am Doctor Gilmore. I see you made it here in one piece?" He asked in a very pleasant voice. I nodded, unable to bring myself to smile in return. Dr. Gilmore turned to 009 to examine him.

"009, did you really know 00XI6?" He asked.

"Yes, we knew each other. Many years ago we were best friends. She was from a very influential family and called me her charity work whenever we were at her house." He explained. I couldn't recall anything. "Up until about a year ago when Black Ghost kidnapped me, we were a couple. I guess they got hold of you, as well, Amé."

There was a very awkward silence as Dr. Gilmore looked from 009 to me and back again. The hand on my shoulder tightened its grip.

"Do you agree with anything 009 is saying, 00XI6?" 004 asked. As if this moment couldn't get any worse, everyone turned to me and waited intently for an answer. I shook my head no, hoping it would stop the stares.

"I don't remember anything." I finally said softly. 009 tried to step towards me, but 003 held him back and 004 pulled me away. I watched him mouth my name, sadness filling his expression.

Dr. Gilmore walked towards me and looked me in my eyes. "I think I may be able to explain this, but it would take me some time before I can be sure I am correct." He announced. 009 looked disappointed while everyone muttered their responses. "In the meanwhile, I want all of you to show 00XI6 around the Dolphin and town. Treat her with respect. I will read over her blueprints to see if there is anything in her design that would cause memory loss."

To that, the group dispersed without another word. 003 dragged 009 towards a house at the edge of the beach. I didn't watch to see where everyone else went, even 004 had let go of my shoulder and walked away. No one was left standing in the sand except for 006 and me. Placing his hand on his round hips, he smiled.

"So, 00XI6, are you hungry? The good Doctor mentioned that you were kidnapped two months ago, but you haven't been fed in at least three weeks." 006 told me just as I felt my stomach growling. "Maybe you'll feel better once you have some nutrition running through you." He laughed lightheartedly. Had I really been asleep for two months? I felt dizzy once more, and now that I know my dizziness is being caused by an empty stomach, I laughed at it. 006 turned around to walk to the house just beyond the sand, still laughing, and now talking about what kind of food he was going to cook.

"I guess because you don't remember anything, you can't tell me what all you like to eat. Am I right?" 006 asked looking over his shoulder.

I laughed. "No clue at all!" I somehow choked out a joke. We laughed, and with that, my right knee gave out on me and I fell face first into the sand.


	3. And So it Starts

Welcome back! Sorry it's taking so long; I just recently got myself a new computer and it took a while to get into the swing of things. I hope everyone enjoys the

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CYBORG 009 IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM!! All character belong to and are copyrighted to their respectful creators. I DO HOWEVER OWN THE 00XI6 CHARACTERS!**_

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**And So it Starts**

Holding the toilet paper under my nose, I leaned my head backwards against the chair again, pinching the bridge of my nose. I groaned.

"That was some bad luck hitting probably the only rock on the entire beach." 006 repeated laughing. When I had fallen, there was little notice before I hit my face on a rock. My nose didn't break, but the fall did send it into a bleeding fit. Is this what they call karma?

006 stirred something in a pan, laughing still. He had thought, although it was a horrible occurrence, that my tripping and falling was hilarious. I tried to ignore the fact that my nose was bleeding some twenty minutes after I fell. I found myself rather happy to be in the kitchen talking to 006 while he cooked. We talked for a while, but without any memories, it was kept to small talk. Good weather that day, perfect for fishing. Soft, wet sand on the beach, that was great for building sand castles. Silence was not uncommon.

I sighed; my nose finally had stopped bleeding. I blew lightly and threw the bloody toilet paper into the garbage can. 006 had handed me a roll of toilet paper when we came into the house; I admit that it was much more convenient than tissues, and softer.

"Did your nose stop bleeding?" I heard 004 ask as he walked into the kitchen. I glanced at him and nodded, he smiled at me. 004 asked 006 about lunch, then left. I didn't hear their exact conversation.

"Playing messenger boy?" I called after him before he could leave. He turned at me, frowning, but laughed and agreed. He left. More silence in the kitchen, the only sound was the food cooking. I sneezed, more blood dripping from my nose. Groaning, I grabbed another wad of toilet paper and repeated the process of leaning my head backwards. Fresh blood ran down the back of my throat, making me choke on its taste.

006 turned to look over his shoulder at me. "Not having a good day today, huh?" He asked laughing a little. I merely groaned again in response. There was silence once more as I half attempted to stop the blood dripping from my nose.

There was another set of footsteps entering the kitchen sniffing the air. "That smells great, 006!" 003 announced walking to 006's side. I sniffed the toilet paper, only to have blood rush down my throat causing me to cough. 003 and 006 spoke about… What were they talking about? I had quit paying any form of attention because a disturbing and disgusting thought crossed my mind.

I sat straight up in the chair, my hands on my lap. For a split second I noticed that my nose had stopped bleeding once and for all, but I ignored that. "006, what did that doctor mean by my blueprints?" I asked.

The pair turned and looked at me with solemn expressions. I couldn't understand why they were looking at me this way, but I merely continued to stare at them with a serious expression and waited for them to answer.

003 spent a few seconds trying to convince me that it was better not to know, but I refused to change my attitude towards the problem. She finally sighed, and pulled a chair beside mine and placed an arm over my shoulders.

"None of us are human anymore." She started. That quickly made me budge. I flinched awkwardly and turned under her rested arm to stare at her. "We were made into Cyborg soldiers by the Black Ghost Organization," She explained.

"In simple terms, we were created to be weapons. Long story short," 006 spoke, never looking up from his frying pan. "Dr. Gilmore knew what they were doing and decided to rebel. He recruited all of us, 001 through 009, as rebels."

We sat in silence. "But," I started softly, looking down to the tiled floor of the kitchen. "That didn't answer my question."

003 sighed, not angry, but almost sad. "Each of us have our own different strengths," She explained. "A different design. 006 can breathe fire, and I have enhanced hearing and sight." She explained.

I couldn't hide the confused expression on my face. "Each of us have our own different blueprints, like a house, showing where our powers are. Like mine are mostly in my ears, eyes, and brain." 003 explained. That completely made sense… Not.

"001 has telekinetic powers." 006 started speaking, still not looking up from his pan. "002 can fly. 004 is mostly guns, his entire right hand is a shot gun, the side of his left hand is a knife, and both of his legs contain missiles." He constantly stirred the food substance in the pan; 003 was right, it did smell good.

"005 has enhanced strength. 007 can change his shape and form to whatever he wants when he touches his bellybutton. 008 can breath underwater, and is most agile there, as well." 003 continued for her… friend?

"And 009--" She cut off. I looked up at her, my entire body burning with an unknown rage.

There was an awkward silence before 006 continued. "He has an accelerator mode that allows him to run at speeds up to mach five." End of explanation.

I groaned, leaning back in my chair causing me to slip forward to the point that my back was on the seat and the armrests pressing into my armpits. "You guys sure do know how to avoid a question." I grumbled.

003 giggled softly at me. "Dr. Gilmore said that you're only sixteen," She said smiling warmly down at me. "It really shows."

I glared up at her. "I don't know whether that is a complement or an insult." I whined.

"It sounds like bickering sisters from in here!" The high voice of 007 echoed through the kitchen. How many of them are going to check in on us? 006 laughed, finally announcing that lunch was finished. Without even letting us reply to his statement, 007 dashed out of the kitchen to tell the others about lunch. 006, upon placing his concoction into a rather deep dish, trotted out of the kitchen after 007.

I straightened up in my chair before I got to my still unstable feet to dust off the white skirt I was wearing. There was a quiet moment before 003 spoke again.

"We answered the question," She said softly. "It's just a blueprint. How our bodies were recreated with the weapon technology."

To that, she stood up and followed 006 out of the room.

I had just begun to raise the fork to my mouth when I saw that everyone in the room was staring intently at me. I looked to them all, confused. "What?"

007 smiled widely at me. "You don't remember what your favorite foods are, so we're all excited about your reaction." He explained. That made sense. I took a small bite of the rice and vegetable meal from my fork.

The warm spices filled my taste buds, the carrots and rice blending a perfect taste together. It wasn't too hot, just right. There were light undertones of a salt flavor and peas added a wonderful little sweet. "So good!" I shouted getting another forkful of the rice. 006 stood tall and proud while the others all cheered.

The food was passed around and lunch was served with many rounds of seconds and even thirds.

Turned out that I was now roommates with 003. She had a medium sized room at the back of the house with a large walk-in closet filled with many beautiful clothing. She explained that since the group was hardly ever living there, it made a wonderful place to store valuables.

She fitted me into a white outfit as sleep wear; long pants, and a tank top. She told me that I looked best in white.

As we lay in bed, trying to sleep, the two of us spoke in whispers.

"Does that 009 really know me?" I asked.

003 shrugged. "I don't know. It's possible."

It was an awkward topic. "He hasn't spoken to me since the beach…" I noted, to my misfortune, out loud.

"Well, you did slap him," 003 said with a laugh. "He'll get over it, though." She sighed. "You know, 00XI6, 009 would always talk about a girl he was in love with whenever we all had free time," She explained. "Do you think it could have been you he was talking about?" She wondered.

I only laughed. "Someone as cute as him? I doubt it!" We both laughed. I felt so at home with 003, like we were sisters.

Sighing, I looked to the ceiling. The full moon outside cast eerie, but beautiful shadows of the curtains onto the darkened white above us. "Hey, 003?" I asked, finally looking back to her.

Her blonde head popped out from under the blanket, blue eyes looking at me curiously. "Yes, 00XI6?"

I frowned. "Do you think you could call me Amé, and not… that… number?"

There was an awkward silence, and after a minute, I started to feel like I had asked something I shouldn't have.

"Of course, Amé!" 003 finally said smiling at me. "As long as you call me Françoise."

I looked at her, confused. "Of course!" I replied, smiling widely in return.

Françoise raised her arm from under the covers. "Tomorrow, I'm fitting you with some new outfits!" She declared. "And if I don't have anything that fits you, well, I guess I'll just have to take you shopping!"

"Sounds fine to me!" I agreed, turning over onto my right side. "Sounds like a lot of fun."

We giggled a couple more times before the room fell quiet. Then silent. Just before I fell asleep, a sharp pain ran through my legs and arms, and quickly spread to my entire body. I thought nothing of it, tensing my muscles and stretching, then falling asleep.


	4. The Dream

Sorry for these chapters to be taking so long! My creativity is being murdered by schoolwork.

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CYBORG 009 IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM!! All character belong to and are copyrighted to their respectful creators. I DO HOWEVER OWN THE 00XI6 CHARACTERS!**_

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**The Dream**

She grumbled to herself. "No, that's too big, too!" She hung back up the shirt after holding it to my body. I rolled my eyes as she held up a pastel pink colored shirt next.

007 sat on my bed across the room watching us awkwardly. "003, are you sure this is necessary?"

She threw something at him, I didn't see what for I couldn't turn around. They argued for a couple seconds before Françoise held a blue skirt to my waist. "Still doesn't look right!" She complained, hanging the skirt back up in the closet.

I rolled my eyes again. I was wearing a skin tight white camisole, and white panties, starting to feel very awkward with a man in the room. I sighed, looking to the floor, my chocolate brown hair falling in my face. Earlier today, before she started running back and forth looking for clothing for me, Françoise painted my finger nails and toe nails white.

Françoise groaned loudly, throwing a green sundress to the floor. "That is it!" She shouted causing 007 and me to jump. "I'm taking you shopping!" She picked up the uniform I arrived in and shoved it into my arms, then shoved me into the walk-in closet. I assumed I was to get dressed.

"003, take it easy, you're worrying too much." I heard 007 comment not long after I put on my clothing and starting tugging on my boots.

Her voice was hard to hear. "I'm allowed to worry." She said. "Amé escaped from Black Ghost with hardly any trouble; her wearing that uniform just screams that we'll be attacked."

Their voices turned to murmurs, and I couldn't hear anymore.

---

"Are you three going out?" Dr. Gilmore asked just as Françoise opened the door for us.

"Yes we are!" 007 answered. "003 is determined to find Amé something to wear so she doesn't stand out."

Dr. Gilmore took this answer, and let us leave. I was about to close the door when I heard 007 greet 009. Being nice, I held it open for him. 007 explained that we were going shopping, and 009 seemed almost saddened by this.

As he passed Françoise, I heard him tell her something. "Try to get her something white or black, or anything with red stars."

She looked to me, then smiled, agreeing to what he suggested, which made me worry.

---

I smiled to a muttered joke 007 told me. Françoise had been determined to get me into anything she could that was black, white, or had red stars. It has been a long four hours, and I was starting to feel really glad that 007 had tagged along with us.

By the end of it all, I found myself carrying home three bags of different clothing items and accessories. 007 was carrying the other five that included several other items I was unsure of what they were.

The two of them made me stand outside while they gathered everyone to see what I was wearing. A white tank top, slightly form fitting, with a large red star over the chest. Black jean shorts, knee length but folded up and stitched to stay about three inches above my knees. White knee-high socks, to me they looked out of place. Black tennis shoes, tied with double knots because I'm too lazy to untie and tie them again. Placed in my hair behind my bangs, a black headband.

Too boring waiting here, I turned on my heel and carefully stepped down the stairs of the porch. Removing my shoes and socks, I ran to the sand. Its warmth felt soft under my feet, the sun-warmed ocean water splashed up my legs and little minnow-like fish rushed away with the waves. The breeze was cooled, ruffling my hair as I took in the bitter scent of the beach. Beside me, a little crab popped his head out of the sand and bubbled at his mouth.

A sad smile crossed my lips as I remembered what Françoise had mentioned yesterday. "You don't really care if I'm human or not, do you?" I asked the crab in a small voice. He reburied himself in the sand, making me sigh. "Thanks for answering that question." I muttered to myself, unable to feel happy again. I returned my attention to the water as it hit my skin.

"Amé!" I heard Françoise call from the beach house behind me. I turned to see her waving from the door of the house. "Everyone's here, come show them your outfit!" She was smiling.

Sighing, I put on a nervous smile and began to run to the house. As I neared the soft sand before the tall grass, my right leg collapsed under the weight of running. I fell, of course, face first into the sand.

It took me a moment to realize what had happened. The gritty sand in my mouth, down my shirt, in my pants. I groaned, thanking myself greatly for having closed my eyes. The worried shouts of the others, I barely noticed them.

Silence.

Hands grabbed my shoulders and lifted me into a sitting position. They mouthed questions, worried expressions on everyone's faces. I shook my head, not even receiving a sound from that. I put my pointer fingers in my ears, pulling them out rather fast. I didn't hear a sound. Their worried expressions turned horrified, and I saw Dr. Gilmore run out of the house.

He knelt in front of me, asking questions I couldn't hear. Françoise was speaking frantically to the doctor, who nodded and looked at my ears. He must have shouted something, for I felt the vibrations against my skin. I looked around the group, each one of them mouthing wordlessly to me, becoming even more frantic. I opened my mouth to speak, but I was afraid to create sounds.

I glanced around, my eyes falling almost naturally on 009, who stood back from the group watching with an even more terrified expression.

And in big red letters across my eyes, ERROR.

---

"_It's cold out, Amé," A brunette man spoke softly to me. He rubbed my back gently before wrapping his arms around my shoulders._

"_Joe!" I scolded him, brushing away the hug that a silent part of me really wanted. "I'm fine. Besides, it's only Springtime."_

_Joe laughed lightly, placing a kiss on my hair. "But Spring isn't exactly warm," He stated, removing his jacket and placing it around my body. "At least wear this until we get home."_

_Even though I groaned, I… I…_

_He… then I… _

---

I was rudely awakened to someone shining a bright light in my eyes.

"Can you hear me, 00XI6?" Dr. Gilmore shouted overly loud upon seeing my eyes open. My hands automatically flew to my ears and an odd noise escaped my lips.

"I can hear you just fine." I groaned. Everyone in the room sighed heavily, and I looked around to see that, indeed, everyone was in a hospital-like room watching me with relieved eyes. "What happened?" I asked, confused.

Françoise sat on the bed next to me, rubbing my forehead in a mother-like way. "You had tripped on the beach about four hours ago," She explained in a hushed voice. "Then you had lost your hearing."

I sat up, blood rushing to my head. I remember that. The faces and silence.

"It's okay, 00XI6," Dr. Gilmore began. "It was just a minor bug in your programming. Falling from the trip merely disconnected--"

"Can I do it again?" I asked. He looked confused. "No offense, sir, but I have no idea what you're saying."

007 laughed. "In simple terms, my dear, the good doctor is trying to say is that when you fell, your hearing stopped. Like when someone's running on a treadmill and they accidentally hit the emergency stop button, it stops altogether. That's basically what happened to your hearing." He explained.

That made sense. "Oh," Was the only thing that my mouth would form.

"I also disabled the Black Ghost Organization tracking device. They shouldn't be able to find you, now." Dr. Gilmore continued. I only looked at him blankly.

"So!" 006 shouted, gaining everyone's attention. "Who's hungry? After all this commotion, I'm sure we've all built up some appetites!" There were some agreements to this, and they started to leave.

I stared at the bed between my knees. I was still caked in sand and it was starting to irritate my skin.

Two things were bothering me about this whole thing.

"I saw 'error'…" I said softly.

Dr. Gilmore and the others stopped to look at me. "Before you blacked out?" The doctor asked, and I nodded. "I merely placed you into a sleep mode that wakes you in a few hours. The error you saw was the system override."

This information made me sick. Don't talk about me like I'm some computer, I wanted to shout at him. But on the other hand, if what Françoise had said last night really was true, then I was a computer. Nothing more than wires placed together. Just a memory, falsified for someone's sick and twisted needs. A hard drive created for storing data and being used like a tool for whatever they had in mind. I wanted to vomit, but computers don't have organs. So could I even if I wanted to? Could I cry?

What about my memories? I can't just be something they created in a lab. Can I? According to 009, we had known each other.

Everyone was leaving the room again, and I found myself with Françoise, 009, 007, and 004, who were just leaving.

"Who's Joe?" I asked myself out loud, remembering the dream I had. I didn't get a good look at the man in my dream, just the part that he had brown hair.

009 immediately turned and looked at me, a shocked expression. The others had also turned, shocked. "My name is Joe." He stated softly, his eyes becoming sad. I watched him just barely mouth my name.

Françoise hurried everyone out of the room, telling me to go back to sleep for a while. "I'll wake you when dinner is done." She said before she closed the door.

Yeah, sleep. How can I possibly sleep knowing that I just had a dream about a man I don't even know?

Maybe it's not him…


End file.
